Saving Grace
by Beth-TauriChick
Summary: Sam comes to a realization after the events in “Grace.“ SD


Title: Saving Grace  
  
Author: BethV (taurichick77)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: Sam comes to a realization after the events in "Grace."  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Daniel, Sam, or the rest of the characters in the Stargate SG-1 universe. They belong to MGM, Double Secret, and lots of other people who are way richer than me. I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement, and hopefully yours, too.  
  
Spoilers: Major ones for "Grace," and a few for previous eps including "Fallen" and "Meridian."  
  
Archiving: Absolutely, just ask so I know where it is.  
  
AN: This is unbeta'd, it just kind of came to me after I saw "Grace" and I wanted to get it done. Dedicated to everyone at the SDR- even though I lurk a lot, l still think y'all are the best group ever.  
  
Major Samantha Carter woke up in the infirmary for the second time that day, still a bit groggy from her recent concussion. The events of the last few days came flooding back to her; she remembered being on the Prometheus, alone and confused. Then the visions of her teammates, her dad, and the little girl came back as well. Finally, she remembered that the Colonel had been next to her when she awoke earlier, and that she had called him Jack. Sam groaned. "What was I thinking?" she mumbled out loud.  
  
"I don't know, Sam, what were you thinking?" Daniel's voice alerted her to his presence. She turned and saw that he was sitting in a chair a few feet from her.  
  
"Hey, Daniel."  
  
"Hey yourself. How are you feeling? You had us all really worried about you. What happened out there? Who's Grace? I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you were talking in your sleep."  
  
"I'm feeling better now, thanks. What happened? That's a really long story. Grace was, well, she was this little girl that I thought I saw on the ship. You told me she could be the cloud trying to communicate with me." Seeing the surprised look on Daniel's face, Sam clarified, "Not 'you' you, but the you my concussion-addled mind came up with to keep me sane."  
  
"Wow, when you said long story you weren't kidding. It does sound like something I'd say, though. So you thought of me to keep you sane? I'm flattered." Daniel flashed her a grin. In the time since he had descended and his memories came back, he realized that his question to her in the tent had come from his subconscious. Somehow a part of him remembered that, before he ascended, he had wanted there to be something between them, something more than the wonderful friendship they shared.  
  
Sam smiled back at his grin, and wondered if the real Daniel would bat his eyelashes at her like the one on the ship. He certainly was hard to resist when he turned on the charm. "I hate to burst your bubble, but Teal'c, the Colonel, and my dad were there, too."  
  
"Oh." His grin faded slightly. "What did they tell you?"  
  
She hesitated as she thought about the conversations with her mind's versions of her father and the Colonel. "Let's just say that I realized that something I thought I wanted wasn't really what I needed. I was just hanging on to a safe bet, and it's time for me to move on."  
  
Daniel looked confused, but decided not to press her and instead changed the subject. "So, Janet tells me that if all goes well then she's letting you out of here tomorrow. General Hammond has us on stand-down for two whole weeks."  
  
Sam nodded. "What are you going to do with your time off? No, let me guess, you're going to be locked away in your office, with endless pots of coffee, working on finding the Lost City."  
  
He grinned again. "You know me too well. If you're really good, I'll sneak you into your lab so you can work on that new piece of technology that SG-3 brought back from P3X317. I've got connections; Janet will never know you're working."  
  
"Connections, eh? Would these be female connections?" Sam was surprised to note a bit of jealousy in her tone as she thought of the nurses, several of whom had obvious crushes on one Dr. Jackson.  
  
Daniel was also surprised, but pleasantly so, to detect the slight hint of jealousy in Sam's voice. He tried not to get his hopes up too much, remembering that she had a concussion, which reminded him of why he had come to see her in the first place, and the small bag resting by his feet. "Oh, I almost forgot, I brought you something." He picked up the bag and walked over to her bed.  
  
"Chocolate walnut cookies! You're the best, " she said, any jealousy forgotten and replaced with the thought of chocolate goodness as she devoured the cookies. "Thanks, Daniel, this is exactly what I needed."  
  
"Anytime, Sam, you know I'm always here for you." Daniel took her hand. Sam thought he was about to say something else, but just at that moment Janet walked in.  
  
"Aha! I thought I told you to go home and get some rest, Daniel. Sam needs to rest, too. Are those cookie crumbs?"  
  
Daniel feigned his best look of innocence. "Cookie crumbs? I have no idea what you're talking about, Janet. I was just leaving, but I wanted to tell Sam that I'll be back in the morning to take her home."  
  
"That's good; all the tests are coming back normal. I see no reason why you can't go home tomorrow, Sam, especially since I know Daniel will get you home safely. Right now, though, he needs to go home so you can get some rest."  
  
"I'm already gone. See you in the morning, Sam, sweet dreams."  
  
"Good night, Daniel." Sam's eyes followed him out of the infirmary, and then she turned back to Janet. "Did I ever tell you that you have really poor timing?"  
  
"Me? I'm not the one who waited until a certain someone was on his deathbed to tell him how I felt. You know, he still thinks you're in love with the Colonel."  
  
"Not anymore, at least not in that way. Hey, how did you know all that? I've been trying to sort all of this out for months, and you knew all along?"  
  
"Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep? Plus, I'm very perceptive." Janet smiled. "Now don't you think it's about time you do something about this revelation? Get some sleep, Daniel will be here in the morning." She turned the light off in the infirmary as she left, leaving Sam alone with her thoughts. Her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were of Daniel, and of all the things she needed to tell him tomorrow.  
  
The next morning, Sam was awakened by a loud voice saying "Rise and shine, kids!" She looked over to see that the Colonel had walked in, and was apparently addressing her and Daniel, who was rising from the same chair he had been in before he left last night. He must have come back during the night. The thought of him watching over her somehow made her feel all warm and tingly inside.  
  
"Jack, was it necessary to be so loud?"  
  
"Sorry, Daniel, I wanted to see how the Major here was holding up. The doc said you were taking Carter home this morning."  
  
"I'm fine, sir, just a little groggy."  
  
"Good. Teal'c says hello; he's spending the next two weeks with Bra'tac. He stopped in to see you before he left, but you were still asleep."  
  
"Didn't seem to bother you, did it," Daniel grumbled. Sam laughed.  
  
"I heard that, Daniel. Fine, I'm leaving, but you make sure she gets home OK." He turned to leave, and passed Janet, who was on her way in with Sam's clothes.  
  
"Here you go, Sam. Daniel and I will be right outside." Sam took the clothes and got dressed. She hoped Janet wasn't telling Daniel anything about their little conversation last night.  
  
She needn't have worried, since out in the hall Janet was too busy fussing at Daniel for sneaking back into the infirmary after she had sent him home. "I specifically told you to go home and get a good night's sleep. Curling up in a chair, fully clothed, does not constitute a good night's sleep. If I find out which nurse it was who let you in here. . . "  
  
Sam walked out into the hall. "Ready to go, Daniel?"  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Quite."  
  
"Sam, you make sure to take it easy the next few days. Call me if you notice anything unusual."  
  
"Thanks, Janet, I will." She followed Daniel to the elevator. When the doors shut, Daniel turned to her.  
  
"Thanks for the rescue back there."  
  
She smiled. "You're welcome. I didn't want Janet yelling at you just because you care enough to want to watch over me."  
  
"I do, you know. Care. A lot, really." He fumbled with his words, trying to work up the courage to say more.  
  
"I know, Daniel. In fact, I've been meaning to have a talk with you about that very subject."  
  
"You have?"  
  
"Yes, but." Sam was interrupted by the ding of the elevator, signaling that they had arrived at their stop. "Let's continue this off the base, OK?"  
  
"OK." They were both silent as they made their way to Daniel's car. When they arrived, he opened the passenger door for her before climbing in to the driver's side. After they had passed through the front gates, he looked over at her. "We're off the base now."  
  
Sam smiled. "Yes, we are. Daniel, I didn't tell you everything about what happened on the Prometheus. You asked what the others told me. My dad was there, and he told me that I deserved to be loved. Jack, um, the Colonel, told me that I deserved better than him."  
  
"So it's true, then, you do have feelings for him."  
  
"Yes, but remember what I told you last night about how I realized that what I wanted wasn't really what I needed, and that I was just hanging on to a safe bet?"  
  
Realization dawned on Daniel. "You were talking about Jack." Sam nodded, and he continued. "You also said you were ready to move on."  
  
"I did, and I am. I thought about who was always there for me, and who really understood me. Last night, when you brought me cookies and told me you'd help me sneak into my lab, I realized that I did deserve someone better, and that someone had been there all along. I guess I've kind of known how I felt about you for a long time now, but something was always in the way until now. Daniel, what are you doing?" This last question was asked as the car slowed down and Daniel maneuvered it onto the shoulder of the road.  
  
"It's five more minutes to your house, and I didn't want to wait one more second to do this," he said, as he stopped the car and reached across to capture her lips with his. The connection was instant, and the kiss continued for several moments. Daniel could feel Sam smiling against his lips, and he pulled away to look at her. "What are you smiling about?" he asked, his own mouth stretched into as wide a grin as Sam had ever seen.  
  
"You are such a romantic! I feel like I'm in one of those novels, all I want to do is say cheesy things to you and tell you how I feel. That kiss was, well, wow."  
  
Daniel laughed. "Well I'm glad we agree on that. Now, if you don't mind, I promised Janet and Jack that I would get you home safely. We can, ah, continue this there."  
  
"By all means." Sam giggled. She couldn't remember a time she had been so happy. She wondered what her Dad would think. Even though it wasn't really him she had talked to on the ship, she felt pretty sure that he would be happy for her. Besides, he liked Daniel. Before she knew it, they were at her house. Daniel, ever the gentleman, came around and opened her door for her. Her held her hand as she got out of the car, and didn't let go until she had to dig around for her keys in her purse.  
  
"So, Daniel, would you like to come in?"  
  
"Try and stop me," he laughed, as they entered her house together.  
  
"Are you still planning on spending your down time in your office?"  
  
"Depends, do you still want me to sneak you into your lab?"  
  
"No, I've had a change of plans. A handsome archeologist has just walked into my house, my calendar's full for the next few days."  
  
"Good, I was hoping you'd say that, because I've got this cute blonde waiting for me."  
  
Sam elbowed him. "Refer to her as a cute blonde again and she might not be waiting for you too long."  
  
"My mistake, what I meant to say was that I have the most beautiful woman in the world, who's also a brilliant scientist and a skilled soldier, and who has just realized that I'm the one for her, waiting on me."  
  
"Much better, that should keep her around for considerably longer. Now come here."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Daniel moved in for another kiss, thinking that if the mysterious girl Grace had anything to do with his current situation, he was forever grateful. 


End file.
